subject: Does Your Child Have Restless Leg Syndrome? [print this page] A little known fact is children have Restless Leg Syndrome. The same tingling, itching, burning, and creepy-crawly feelings that we as adults have are also being felt by our children. The big problem is that a child has difficulty explaining the annoying sensations brought on by Restless Leg Syndrome(RLS).
A telltail sign of RLS in children is the continuous urge to move the legs when resting and it taking a long time to fall asleep. A child who has RLS will likely toss and turn most of the night causing poor quality of sleep. It is then during the day, because of lack of sleep, that the child has daytime sleepiness, behavior and academic problems, irritability and hyperactivity.
This discovery was made a couple years ago and still it is not being acknowledged as such in the medical community. Often RLS goes missdiagnosed or undiagnosed in children between the years of 2 to 12. The conclusion is primarily that these children have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD) and are put on medication. Often for milder cases, it is referred to as growing pains.
The child may be able to discribe to you the feelings that he or she has with their legs. Also, try and watch your child while they are sleeping. If you notice the child being restless and the legs moving quite frequently, then try and count how many times in an hour that the legs move. Your pediatrician may order a sleep study be done if there is still doubt.
Restless Leg Syndrome can be a blessing as it may be a secondary condition of another underlying cause. Low iron levels have also been known to be the culprite causing the symptoms of RLS. A pediatrician will run tests to make this determindation.
Left untreated RLS can result in other problems lick anxiety, depression, and other sleep disorders. Immediately after diagnosing the disease, treatment should be given. Don't necessarily expect a magic pill because that just won't happen. Drug treatment in children with RLS should be avoided whenever possible.
Exercise, proper sleep routine and dietary changes may need to be made. For the discomfort and to try and calm the legs down it is good to try massage and heating pads.
by: Kali Nichols
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
